I've got a hen that refuses to roost in the coop.

[lyleg5895]

I have an Australorp that absolutely refuses to roost in the coop. It's not a huge deal right now as it's still pretty warm at night and she roosts pretty high up the mulberry tree just outside the coop but I worry about her with winter around the corner. I've tried taking her down at night and putting her in the coop but she doesn't seem to take the hint. She's never done this before the last few months. I know the coop is big enough because we've had more birds in there than we do now and I just expanded the coop and roosts. She has no problem going in and laying during the day and she gets along with the other girls just fine. I've also noticed that she roosts long before sundown while the others are still scratching around the yard. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she's doing this and how to correct it?

 

[Mrs. K]

Is the tree higher up than the roosting in the coop? That might be the problem. You might have to hang netting or something so that she can't roost where she wants to, and then will pick the (in her mind) the second best place, which I hope is your coop.

 

[neo71665]

Might have to start putting her in the coop and locking her down at night until she is retrained to go in there.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, you say this started a few months ago. How old is she? What changed a few months ago, when she started roosting in the tree? Did you add new birds to your flock? Get a rooster? Remodel the coop? Did a dog frighten her? It just seems to me that some event must have happened to change her behavior. Does anything come to mind?

 

[lyleg5895]

Might have to start putting her in the coop and locking her down at night until she is retrained to go in there.

The problem is I have been putting her in the coop at night for the last week or so. And yet she has no interest in roosting in the coop. Should I put a higher roost inside for her?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Can you watch or supervise as the chickens begin to bed down, and see if she is being bullied?

 

[Cryss]

The roosts in a coop should be higher than nests. They go to the highest point to be safe. When you first put her in this coo did you lock her in 24/7 right away? It helps them acclimate to the feeling of safety inside. After a week (or two if necessary) let her out. It’s always worked for me.

 

[aart]

I know the coop is big enough because we've had more birds in there than we do now

Pics of coop, please....and number n ages of birds.

I just expanded the coop and roosts

Is that when the tree roosting started?

 

[lyleg5895]

Pics of coop, please....and number n ages of birds.

Is that when the tree roosting started?

No this started prior to that.

I dont have many pictures of the inside of the coop post expansion. I'll go out and take more once the sun comes up. The coop is 8'x20' with various height roosts. Most of them sleep on the higher roosts but there's still plenty of room.
Currently, 4 of them are three years old, 4 two year olds, 2 yearling roosters and 2 yearling hens plus a few chicks that were hatched out by our hens recently.

The roosts in a coop should be higher than nests. They go to the highest point to be safe. When you first put her in this coo did you lock her in 24/7 right away? It helps them acclimate to the feeling of safety inside. After a week (or two if necessary) let her out. It’s always worked for me.

The roosts are all higher than the nests. We actually just had a couple week lock down to get them laying in the new nesting boxes I put in. I was tired of the daily easter egg hunts.

Can you watch or supervise as the chickens begin to bed down, and see if she is being bullied?

I usually do watch them bed down for the night. There doesn't seem to be any major bullying towards her. Just standard pecking or stuff and the occasional rooster getting frisky.

I'm thinking I'll put in another, higher roost today and see what that does.

 

[lyleg5895]

Here are some pictures of inside the coop:

This is the original coop. Basically a big bird cage inside our barn. We use a doggie door that was original to the barn as our chicken door.

A view into the extension from inside the original part.

Our nesting boxes in the front corner of the extension. The top ones are about the height of the current roosts. Not ideal but it saves space and the buckets get flipped around at night so the girls don't sleep in them.

The current main roosts. About 10' of total roosting space there.

The secondary roosts for our bigger birds who have trouble getting up to the higher ones. Another 12' of total roosting space. I've already taken these out to reconfigure the setup. I'll scavenge them and make more roosts that are above the main ones and some ladders for the big girls to climb up.

I'll post pictures once I'm done.